Beyond the Libet clock: modality variants for agency measurements

The Sense of Agency (SoA) refers to our capability to control our own actions and influence the world around us. Recent research in HCI has been exploring SoA to provide users an instinctive sense of “I did that” as opposed to “the system did that”. However, current agency measurements are limited. The Intentional Binding (IB) paradigm provides an implicit measure of the SoA. However, it is constrained by requiring high visual attention to a “Libet clock” onscreen. In this paper, we extend the timing stimulus through auditory and tactile cues. Our results demonstrate that audio timing through voice commands and haptic timing through tactile cues on the hand are alternative techniques to measure the SoA using the IB paradigm. They both address limitations of the traditional method (e.g., lack of engagement and visual demand). We discuss how our results can be applied to measure SoA in tasks involving different interactive scenarios common in HCI

Free will debates: Simple experiments are not so simple

The notion that free will is an illusion has achieved such wide acceptance among philosophers and neuroscientists that it seems to be acquiring the status of dogma. Nonetheless, research in this area continues, and this review offers a new analysis of the design limitations and data interpretations of free-will experiments. This review presents 12 categories of questionable conclusions that some scholars use to promote the idea that free will is an illusion. The next generation of less ambiguous experiments is proposed

How does it feel to act together?

This paper on the phenomenology of joint agency proposes a foray into a little explored territory at the intersection of two very active domains of research: joint action and sense of agency. I explore two ways in which our experience of joint agency may differ from our experience of individual agency. First, the mechanisms of action specification and control involved in joint action are typically more complex than those present in individual actions, since it is crucial for joint action that people coordinate their plans and actions. I discuss the implications that these coordination requirements might have for the strength of the sense of agency an agent may experience for a joint action. Second, engagement in joint action may involve a transformation of agentive identity and a partial or complete shift from a sense of self-agency to a sense of we-agency. I discuss several factors that may contribute to shaping our sense of agentive identity in joint action

Undersøkelse av hemolyse interferens på folat, kalium og ASAT

Innledning: Problemstilling: Hvor hemolysert kan en blodprøve være for å kunne gi nøyaktige svar ved serumprøver i folat, kalium og ASAT ved Ålesunds Cobas moduler? Hensikten med dette forsøket er å måle hemolyse-indeks (HI) for kalium, folat og ASAT ved Ålesund sykehus sine Cobas 8000 moduler. Dette for å finne ut om det er mulig å endre grenseverdiene for HI som blir brukt per dags dato (28.05.19). Ålesund sykehus ønsker å utvide hemolyse grensen for folat og ASAT. For kalium så ønsker de å snevre inn grensen. Metode: For hver analytt ble det valgt fem pasientprøver. De ble valgt på grunnlag av deres konsentrasjon av analytt og lav hemolyse.En bruksløsning ble laget av pasientenes individuelle hemolysat og fem fortynninger ble laget basert på pasientens eget serum og bruksløsning. Fortynningsrekka ble laget slik at man fikk fem ulike fortynninger for folat, ASAT og kalium. Et hemolysat ble laget av de vaskede erytrocyttene til hver individuelle pasient ved å sette etylendiamintetraacetat(EDTA)-rørene i en fryser. De fortynnede og ufortynnede prøvene ble analysert på Cobas med tre replikater. For å undersøke Hb i hemolysatet ble det fortynnet med 0.9% NaCl og analysert på Sysmex XN-2000. Resultat: Dette er et kvantitativt studie hvor alle pasientprøver fra de med lave konsentrasjoner til de med høye konsentrasjoner av hver analytt er presentert i tabell og graf form. Konklusjon: Basert på dette forsøket kan det dermed konkluderes med at sykehuset sine grenseverdier for kalium og folat kan endres, mens ASAT kan forbli det samme. Dette er basert på utregninger og anbefalinger i forsøket og sykehusets ønske om å enten utvide eller snevre inn grenseverdiene for hemolyse-indeks

Elucidating the Formation of 6-Deoxyheptose: Biochemical Characterization of the GDP-d-glycero-d-manno-heptose C6 Dehydratase, DmhA, and Its Associated C4 Reductase, DmhB

6-Deoxyheptose is found within the surface polysaccharides of several bacterial pathogens. In Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, it is important for the barrier function of the O-antigen in vitro and for bacterial dissemination in vivo. The putative C6 dehydratase DmhA and C4 reductase DmhB, that were identified as responsible for 6-deoxyheptose synthesis based on genetics data, represent potential therapeutical targets. Their detailed biochemical characterization is presented herein. The substrate, GDP-D-glycero-D-manno-heptose, was synthesized enzymatically from sedoheptulose 7-phosphate using overexpressed and purified GmhA/B/C/D enzymes from Aneurinibacillus thermoaerophilus. Overexpressed and purified DmhA used this substrate with high efficiency, as indicated by its K(m) of 0.23 mM and k(cat) of 1.1 s(-1). The mass spectrometry (MS) analysis of the reaction product was consistent with a C6 dehydration reaction. DmhB could readily reduce this compound in the presence of NAD(P)H to produce GDP-6-deoxy-D-manno-heptose, as indicated by MS and NMR analyses. DmhA also used GDP-mannose as a substrate with a K(m) of 0.32 mM and a k(cat) of 0.25 min(-1). This kinetic analysis indicates that although the K(m) values for GDP-mannose and GDP-manno-heptose were similar, the genuine substrate for DmhA is GDP-manno-heptose. DmhB was also able to reduce the GDP-4-keto-6-deoxymannose produced by DmhA, although with poor efficiency and exclusively in the presence of NADPH. This study is the first complete biochemical characterization of the 6-deoxyheptose biosynthesis pathway. Also, it allows the screening for inhibitors, the elucidation of substrate specificity determinants, and the synthesis of carbohydrate antigens of therapeutic relevance